Of Key West, Florida (founded in 1951) establishes an airline division,
AAT Airlines, in 1971 and begins scheduled Douglas DC-3 flights to Miami and Tampa in July. Several routes are taken over from Executive Airlines during 1972, including a run from Ft. Lauderdale to Sarasota via Marathon.
In November 1973, the carrier is sold and the new owners rename it Air Sunshine. Frank V. Bervaldi is named president/CEO. An increased number of frequencies are started to Miami and stops are made en route at Kissimmee and Orlando. Operations continue apace in 1974-1975, with enplanements in the latter year reaching 50,524.
Airline employment grows 43% in 1976 to 105. The 5 DC-3s transport 112,174 souls on the year, a major 55% jump. Freight is also up 50% to 2.1 million FTKs.
On January 15, 1977, the No. 1 engine of a DC-3 with 3 crew and 30 passengers fails just after takeoff from Miami. The pilot loses control while attempting an emergency landing and the Douglas crashes; there are no fatalities, but the aircraft must be written off.
A Convair CV-440 Metropolitan is placed into service in June and helps the year’s enplanements reach 135,879.
In 1978, airline employment stands at 174 and the fleet comprises 4 DC-3s and 2 CV-440s. Passenger boardings jump 24% to 178,787 and freight traffic rises 16% to 657,069 pounds. Control of the company is taken in late December by rapidly expanding Air Florida.
AIR SUNSHINE (2): P. O. Box 22237, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33335, United States; Phone (954) 434-8900; Fax (954) 359-8229; Code YI; Year Founded 1983. Taking the name of an earlier commuter, Air Sunshine is formed at Ft. Lauderdale in early 1983 to offer scheduled weekday Cessna 402 passenger flights to Sarasota. Operations continue apace for a decade, during which time additional frequencies are added, as is service to Orlando, Tampa, and Miami.
A Cessna 402C crashes at Clewiston, Florida, on January 23, 1992 (two dead). In 1993, President Alan Adili’s fleet comprises 5 Cessna 402s. It is increased during the spring of 1994 by the addition of 1 Em-braer EMB-110P1. Enplanements for the year total 10,326. Operations continue apace in 1995.
The employee population stands at 22 in 1996. In December, the company begins to offer flights to destinations in the Caribbean. The 6 aircraft in the fleet transport a total of 18,329 passengers.
President Adili’s fleet in 1997 includes 5 Cessna 402s and 2 Ban-deirantes.
While on final approach to the airport at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on the night of February 8, a Cessna 402C with a pilot and four passengers lands in the sea, three mi. short of the runway (two dead).
Customer bookings this year increase 42% to 26,030.
Flights continue in 1998. Enplanements are level at 26,000.
While departing Ft. Lauderdale for the Bahamas on June 8, 1999, in heavy rain, a chartered Cessna 402C, with a pilot and nine passengers, goes off the side of the runway and crashes into an airport taxiway sign; although no injuries are reported, the aircraft is badly damaged.
Customer bookings jump 16.8% to 31,000.
A company Cessna 402C with 10 passengers aborts its March 16, 2000 takeoff from Ft. Lauderdale on a service to Bradenton; the aircraft veers off the runway and into a fence, where one passenger is hurt.
AIR SUPPLY (PTY.), LTD.: P. O. Box 3799, Halfway House 1685, South Africa; Phone (11) 315-2504; Fax (11) 805-3365; Year Founded 1990. Air Supply is set up in 1990 to offer executive passenger and small group passenger charters throughout South Africa and to neighboring countries. Revenue flights commence with 2 Mitsubishi Mu-2s, 1 Beech King Air 90, 1 Super King Air 200, plus 2 Bell 206B JetRanger helicopters.
In 1995, the company seeks approval from the government to offer jet service, but this bid is denied. In 2000, Bradley Amolis is managing director, with Ivan Kier continuing, as he has for eight years, as chief pilot. The fleet comprises the 2 JetRangers, 1 McDonnell Douglas MD 500, and 2 Robinson R22s.
AIR SUR, S. A.: (1987-1991). Air Sur is formed at Madrid in early 1987 to offer regional flights with 2 Douglas DC-8-61s. Santiago Abril Lozano is named president with Juan Ruiz Arce as general manager. En-planements reach 354,554.
Airline employment falls 33.9% in 1988 to 74 and the 2 older Douglas aircraft are replaced by 4 McDonnell Douglas MD-83s. Passenger boardings decline by 59% to 222,990 and revenues drop 30.5% to $24.55 million.
The workforce is rejuvenated in 1989, growing by 24.3% to 92. Customer bookings drop sharply again, falling 26.2% to 243,192.
In an effort to redress its traffic failures, Air Sur details a fleet of 2 MD-83s and 1 SAAB 340A and inaugurates domestic third-level scheduled services in June 1990 to Almeira, Granada, and Seville.
A DC-9-10 is chartered from Intercredit Corporation on January 29, 1991, but is sold, lease in place, to a new owner, ILFC, on April 18.
The scheduled service gambit is not successful and unable to achieve viability after this start-up, the carrier suspends operations in June. The DC-9 is repossessed on July 24.
AIR SWAZI CARGO, LTD.: Swaziland (1987-1995). This all-cargo charter operation is formed at Mbabane by Brian Parmenter and T. M. Longmore (the latter is also a player in African International Airways, Ltd.) in 1987 to offer regional and international all-cargo services. The 20-employee carrier is outfitted with a single Boeing 707-320C that in April begins a weekly service from Manzini to Amsterdam via Mauritius and Cairo.
Freight charters are continued throughout Africa and Europe until the company shuts its doors on August 31, 1995.
World History
